In Your House

[cwoy2j]

 

Edge Vs Christian: IC title ladder match. Man, this promised so much, but didn't really deliver. I was wanting it to be more intense and violent a la the Benoit/Jericho ladder match, but it was more in the vein of the TLC-style matches, with the emphasis on setting up elaborate spots rather than just hitting people with the ladder. Not bad or anything, but just felt like a missed opportunity. The finish was choice though, with Edge using a chair to low-blow Christian as a call-back to their last match, and then performing a one man con-chair-to on top of the ladder, which was a great visual. I had forgotten about Edge's Rob Zombie theme. They really were chopping and changing themes a lot at this time.

 

Agreed. The meat of the match really fell flat for me but the finish was awesome. Douchebag Christian got what was coming to him fro his "brother". I also remember them changing themes a lot around this time. Christian went through two or three other themes in about 2 months. Austin also changed his theme three or four times between WM and Survivor Series. I remember right after the InVasion ppv (maybe even the RAW after it), he used this really weird super slowed down version of his usual theme. I don't think it lasted more than one or two RAWs before he used that really sped up metal theme.

[cwoy2j]

I think this is Austin's post-Invasion theme

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKm8Y84EYsE

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Jeez, that's worse than any of the others he used.

[cwoy2j]

Jeez, that's worse than any of the others he used.

 

Yeah it was pretty bad. I think he only used it once. IIRC, it was on the RAW where he explained why he jumped to the Alliance. He might've used it on that week's Smackdown but I don't remember it lasting any longer than that.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

Here's a semi-related question: I recall around this period, Zakk Wylde said he recorded an entrance theme for Austin (this obviously isn't it). Has that ever seen the light of day? I saw someone on another site once theorize that it got repurposed for Snitsky, but I don't think that phrasing matches his style (though the tone is damn close).

[cwoy2j]

Here's a semi-related question: I recall around this period, Zakk Wylde said he recorded an entrance theme for Austin (this obviously isn't it). Has that ever seen the light of day? I saw someone on another site once theorize that it got repurposed for Snitsky, but I don't think that phrasing matches his style (though the tone is damn close).

 

Commenters on Youtube say it was that theme I posted (the commenters on the link below). I don't think it sounds like Zakk's stuff though. I don't think Zakk did Snitsky's theme although I bet what happened was that he was supposed to remake Snitsky's generic theme ala Saliva with Batista but it didn't happen for whatever reason. I always liked Snitsky's theme and Zakk's take on it would've been awesome.

 

[cwoy2j]

 

Chris Jericho Vs The Rock: I loved the build-up to this match. I really hated Jericho's babyface act up to this point, so was glad that he was showing some balls and getting in Rocky's face. He kinda won me over for a little bit. The match is really good. Jericho was right when he said that he and the Rock had great chemistry together. I think I prefer the Royal Rumble match to this one, but this is still strong, worked mostly as a face/face contest, but with both guys getting a touch heelish. I'd say the crowd is about 60/40 for Jericho here too. Funny how easy the fans have always seemed to find it to turn on the Rock. Steph gets involved, trying to cost Jericho the match, but it backfires, and she eats a Rock Bottom which allows Jericho to hit the Breakdown (remember that?- I didn't) on a chair to finally win 'the big one', which had been one of the key story components leading into the match. This actually felt like a big moment, with the crowd pop, and Heyman selling it big on commentary.

 

You should've mentioned Rock handing Jericho the chair after the match and shooting him a look like, "yeah you won, but you needed this to do it." Thought that was a pretty cool little character moment.

[MoeCristyV.1.6]

Or Jericho's failing at getting the chair out of the ring.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWF Rebellion 2001.

 

Edge Vs Christian: Cage match. This is way better than the ladder match. They're given a bunch of time, and really do a better job conveying the hatred between them in this setting. I still wonder what this feud would have looked like with Edge as the heel and Christian as the babyface. Did we ever actually get a match between the two with that alignment? I think the window for it would have been pretty narrow.

 

Scottie 2 Hottie Vs The Hurricane: A big match for the UK crowd. This is decent, to be fair. Scottie is still pretty over, at least in relation to his standing in the company. Starts off with a feeling that they're just going through the motions, but it warms up into a nice little contest. The sort of thing that might be well remembered had it taken place on an indie card with a hot crowd. Shocked, absolutely shocked, that Scottie wins this with the worm.

 

Diamond Dallas Page Vs The Big Show: I didn't realize Page was doing the motivational speaker gimmick as early as this. I thought that came after the Invasion angle ended. Man, they really couldn't wait to turn him into a nothing guy, could they? Nice spot where Page locks on a side headlock, and Show just stands upright, elevating Page off the ground. He should still be using that. Otherwise, this is a squash win for Show. He even kicks out of a Diamond Cutter, albeit with a delay until Page covered. You know, when I went through all the WCW ppvs not so long ago, one of the best things about that project was seeing Page improve and eventually become one of the most consistently good workers in the company. It's sad that in a few short months WWF killed him off as a relevant guy.

 

The Dudley Boyz Vs The Hardy Boyz Vs The APA: Elimination rules match for the WCW tag titles, held by the Duds. The APA went pretty quickly, and the Dudley/Hardy segment was pretty disappointing, considering how often they've worked each other. Dudleys retain.

 

William Regal Vs Tajiri: This was a decent little match, but I was hoping for much more, as it seems like they should be able to do some stellar work together.

 

Chris Jericho Vs Kurt Angle: WCW title. Angle has jumped to the Alliance by this point. We got a segment earlier with Vince trying to broker a peace deal between Rock and Jericho, but it ended with the two of them brawling. I really like the way that feud has developed. It seems very realistic- a clash of egos, one guy's insecurity about never winning the big one, the tension as they both have to fight for a common cause. Jericho and Angle give us a solid match, with Jericho eking out the win.

 

Torrie Wilson and Lita Vs Stacy Keibler and Mighty Molly: Trish is guest ref. This is typical divas fare with the faces going over, and then Trish getting a shot in on Stacy for good measure.

 

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Vs The Rock: Now this IS a huge match for a UK ppv. These two guys just don't have bad matches together, and this one was fun to see Austin work out-and-out heel against Rocky. Of course, they added lots of shenanigans, with Angle and Jericho both getting involved, and Austin eventually getting the win. I can't say enough how great Austin was in his role at this time.

 

Match of the night: A couple of contenders, but I give it to the main, at around 3 and quarter stars, followed by the cage match and Jericho/Angle with 3 stars.

 

Show rating: Actually a good show, especially considering it's just a UK-only ppv, and a filler show before Survivor Series. I'll give it 3 and a quarter stars.

[cwoy2j]

 

Edge Vs Christian: Cage match. This is way better than the ladder match. They're given a bunch of time, and really do a better job conveying the hatred between them in this setting. I still wonder what this feud would have looked like with Edge as the heel and Christian as the babyface. Did we ever actually get a match between the two with that alignment? I think the window for it would have been pretty narrow.

 

Yeah, they had a match on RAW in 2010 where Edge was the heel.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWF Vengeance 2001.

 

So, the Invasion is over, and the WWF pretty much went into reset mode. Austin is back to being the good old Austin, Angle is a heel again, despite just being the savior of the WWF, and Vince reverts back to being heel Mr McMahon. I always found all this really jarring (and very disappointing). Oh, and Lawler is back on commentary, which is especially disappointing. We kick off this show with a Mr McMahon promo, in fact, where he talked about being made to kiss Rikishi's ass by the Rock, saying that he will have the last laugh tonight. Then Flair comes out, and introduces the first match.

 

Scotty Too Hotty and Albert Vs Test and Christian: Scotty and Albert dance in Vince's face, which seems a ballsy move for these guys. Hip Hop Hippo might be the worst nickname ever. This was okay for what it was. Really surprised Scotty and Albert got the win, as I thought Test was pretty well protected during this period (after winning the Immunity battle royal). Sure, it was Christian laying down, but still. It was Albert who was made to look the badass in this one.

 

Edge Vs William Regal: IC title. So, Edge moves on from a feud with Christian into a programme with Regal. I'm down with that as, based on this evidence, these two have a lot of chemistry. Regal was doing his Power of the Punch gimmick here, which I thought was a lot of fun. Edge really gives Regal a lot of offence here, and Regal looks great. Regal had the knucks hidden by the ringspost, but Edge caught him with a spear for the win. Nice match.

 

Jeff Hardy Vs Matt Hardy: Lita is the guest ref. This is all based on Jeff costing the Hardys the tag titles by going for a Swanton off the top of the cage (against the Dudleys) instead of just climbing out. Matt was clearly in the right here. The match didn't really seem to work any kind of story into it. It was just a match. Jeff is a great ragdoll bumper, and a sympathetic seller, but he really lacks fire in his comebacks, which hurts him. Jeff wins even though Matt has his foot on the ropes, to further the story.

 

The Dudley Boyz Vs The Big Show and Kane: This match is notable for Show pulling down Stacy Keibler's skirt and spanking her, which of course is a huge babyface move and not sexual assault. Show and Kane argue which allows the Duds to get the win. I like that the Dudleys are being booked so strong, even though I don't particularly like them.

 

The Undertaker Vs Rob van Dam: For RVD's hardcore title. So, Taker is a heel now, after forcing JR to kiss Vince's ass. So much forced ass-kissing during this period. Undertaker is already looking way better as a heel than he did as a face. Just more charismatic as a heel, in my opinion. Decent garbage match, with Taker winning the belt after chokeslamming RVD off the stage, through tables and other debris acting as padding. Taker looks shocked and disturbed by his own actions, which was the wrong reaction for me.

 

Trish Stratus Vs Jacqueline: This is interesting just because apparently Jackie decided that she was gonna make Trish pay all her dues in this one match. A couple of audible gasps from the crowd at Jackie's stiffness. Jackie as kind of a female Hardcore Holly could have been interesting.

 

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle: This is for the WWF title, and the first match to determine the first ever Undisputed champion. They really pushed hard that this was a 'first ever'-type deal, when it actually wasn't a true undisputed championship at all, but regardless... Austin and Angle don't have quite the same chemistry with Austin as the face and Kurt as the heel as they did the other way around, but this is still a pretty good match, worked very aggressively by both. Austin busts out some shitty German suplexes. I hate signature move-swapping. Finish seemed a bit routine, with Austin simply blocked Angle's stunner attempt with a stunner of his own for the win. They didn't really play up the success Angle had had against Austin just a few months ago.

 

The Rock Vs Chris Jericho: The next chapter in the most entertaining feud in wrestling at this point. Another cracking match from these two. Jericho is a full-fledged heel by now, which adds a different dimension to the match. He is made to look really strong by Rocky, but his sharpshooter may be even worse than the Rock's. Vince comes down to get involved, and the distraction is enough for Jericho to get the win, with a Rock Bottom, no less. I might prefer this to the No Mercy match.

 

Chris Jericho Vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin: Austin comes out to start the match immediately, but Angle hits him with a chair. Rock then gives Jericho a Rock Bottom so the match starts with both guys laid out. Another good match, with Vince again coming out with Nick Patrick, after the ref gets knocked out. This brings out Flair, but Vince lays out Flair (!). Austin locks on Walls of Jericho that looks better than Jericho usually applies it. Jericho tapped but the ref is still out, and out of the crowd comes Booker to nail Austin with the belt and allow Jericho to get the win. I remember being super shocked by this at the time, as I thought Austin was pretty much a lock to win this thing, and that we were sure to get an Austin-Rock final. Jericho looked great though, beating the two top stars in the company, even if it was by nefarious means. It's a shame how his reign went, but I'm sure we'll get more into that later.

 

Match of the night: Jericho/Rock again. 4 stars for this one. Jericho/Austin at 3 and a quarter, Austin/Angle and Edge/Regal at 3.

 

Show rating: I thoroughly enjoyed this show, and I wasn't really expecting to going in. I'd say this is a 3 1/2 star show.

[Brian Fowler]

The only thing I was sure of going into that show was that it wouldn't be Rock vs. Austin in the finals. No way in hell they run that match without promoting the hell out of it.

It was brilliant in a way though, hoping to sell extra buys to people who thought they'd get Rock v Austin but couldn't complain about a double switch.

[RandomAct]

They were so good about protecting the Rock-Austin matchup.  Incredible restraint when you think about their current mentality.  We would get that matchup 8 times in a year now.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

True, which is why I was so surprised to see it on Rebellion.

[cwoy2j]

From what I've read, there was a UK book maker taking bets on who was going to walk out of Vengeance with the Undisputed title. The odds on Jericho were terrible because he jobbed pretty hard to Austin and Rock on the RAWs leading up to the ppv but of course, people backstage knew he was going to win. A bunch of guys put money on Jericho and cleaned up.

[cwoy2j]

Also, Jericho said he didn't know he was going over until the day of the ppv. He said that Vince walked past him in that day and jokingly said to someone, "you know the business is going downhill when they put the strap on Jericho." Jericho said he wished he'd have known sooner b/c he would've flown his family in to see it.

[Brian Fowler]

It's like when the one gambling site had Rock as a huge favorite against Lesnar at SummerSlam and people who knew rock was filming a movie cleaned up.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Here's my top 3+-star match-getters through 2001:

 

1. Steve Austin: 19

2. Chris Jericho: 16

3. Triple H/The Undertaker: 13

5. Edge/Mick Foley/X-Pac: 12

8. The Rock/Christian/Bret Hart: 11

11. Vader/Kane: 9

13. Shawn Michaels: 8

14. British Bulldog/Owen Hart/Kurt Angle: 7

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWF No Way Out 2002.

 

Into 2002, and the start of what I think of as the dark ages of the WWF/E. It just seems to me that rom this point on the company has no real direction, things started to matter less, the production and presentation got really stale, and things just didn't seem as exciting any more. I kind of link it in my head to the Triple H reign of terror on Raw, but I'm sure it's more to do with the lack of competition with WCW and ECW going under, and also with me just getting older. That isn't to say that I haven't enjoyed periods (long periods in fact) of the product, and I've remained a fan all through this era. Anyway, maybe this project will force me to rethink my views a little, and hopefully there are some hidden gems that I didn't notice or appreciate the first time around.

 

We start, inauspiciously, with a promo from the debuting nWo, and it's a terrible one at that, as they disingenuously tell us that they're here to help the WWF, and they just want to be given a chance. Copious amounts of insider talk is peppered in. The nWo were the coolest of cool heels 6 years previous. Here they just come across as old and sad.

 

Tag team turmoil: This is for a shot at the tag titles at WrestleMania. Scotty and Albert against Christian and Lance Storm is first up. Quick and painless, with the heels going over. The Hardys are next and up the excitement level, moving on. I can't recall how they resolved their feud, but it didn't take long. The Dudleys are next, and the Hardys take care of them too, before falling to Billy and Chuck. The APA are the last team out, and they win it all. Pretty bad match all in all. Really rushed, and none of the segments really stood out. I don't even think this ended up meaning anything, as I believe the tag title match at WM18 was a fatal fourway.

 

Rob van Dam Vs Goldust: This seems like a big step down for RVD, after being in or around the main event scene since he came in. That said, Goldust puts in a really good performance here, working pretty stiff, and throwing some great strikes. He looks great, and it's great to have him back.

 

Tazz and Spike Dudley Vs Booker T and Test: I liked the Tazz/Spike team, and their little run with the tag belts. This wasn't much of a match though. I don't really want to see Tazz selling, just wrecking guys. The champs retain.

 

Edge Vs William Regal: Regal is the IC champ now, and he defends here in a brass knuckles on a pole match. Apart from the Russo-iffic stip, I'm looking forward to this. They pretty much continue where they left off last time, with Edge giving Regal lots of the match. Edge is working an internal injuries gimmick here, which is a solid base for the match. They fuck up what should have been a hurricanrana from the apron to the floor on Regal, and the gimmick is a bit constricting, but otherwise this is another good effort from the two. Regal, of course, has a spare pair of knucks in his tights, and uses them for the win.

 

The Rock Vs The Undertaker: Great babyface performance from the Rock here. He sells really well. I continue to be impressed with heel Taker, and I'm thinking this might be my favourite version of the Dead Man. He's just such a mean, nasty bastard. I thought these two worked really well together here, and the interference from Ric Flair worked well too. He ended up hitting Taker with a pipe to help Rock win, and it really felt like an upset because of how well Rocky had sold for Taker.

 

Kurt Angle Vs Triple H: Triple H's number one contendership on the line, with Steph as the guest ref. This is really pretty boring, and the only thing of real interest involves Steph, who gets taken out of the match early by an errant Angle clothesline (and takes a nice over the top rope bump from it), but then returns to help Angle get the win. JR sells this is the biggest miscarriage of justice he's ever seen, but King is giddy with excitement. The close-up of saliva cascading out of Hunter's mouth lasts a bit too long.

 

We got the famous Rock meets the nWo skit, which holds up well. Rocky also cut a great promo on Taker before his match, so a good night for him all in all. Another backstage bit saw Austin refuse the gift of a 6-pack from the nWo, which would prove a fatal mistake...

 

Chris Jericho Vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin: I was looking forward to this, considering these were probably the two best performers of 2001. Unfortunately, it really disappointed. There just seemed to be a lot of moments where they were kinda off, and Austin didn't really do much to put Jericho over. Contrast this to the way The Rock made Jericho seem like he was on his level and it's night and day. Here, Jericho seems second-rate. Austin throws about a million chops in this, but he just doesn't seem like the Austin of old. There isn't quite the intensity to his brawling that I'm used to. To cap it off we get a shitty finish, with Earl taking a terrible bump, and then the nWo running in. They barely get an advantage over Austin when Scott Hall hits a shitty stunner, and that's all it takes for Jericho to get the 3. Very weak. Hall hits another stunner post-match, and then spray paints Austin's back. I think it's safe to say that the nWo in the WWF just didn't work.

 

Match of the night: Taker/Rock at 3 and a quarter. Edge/Regal at 3.

Show rating: Not a great one really. Maybe 2 stars.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWF Backlash 2002.

 

Tajiri Vs Billy Kidman: The brand split is in effect, but we still have joint pay-per-views. Here are the Smackdown-exclusive cruiserweights, which means that Lawler doesn't know that Tajiri has started making Torrie dress like a geisha. He isn't happy about this. This is a really good match for Kidman's title. Both guys get to bust out a lot of offence, and really win the crowd over. Tajiri is particularly great, and gets the win after misting Kidman in the face. This is up there with just about any WCW cruiserweight title match.

 

Scott Hall Vs Bradshaw: X-Pac is back, and parading around with Kane's mask. Nash has been 'indefinitely suspended'. Don't remember what that was about. Faarooq, who is now on Smackdown, comes out to even the odds, but Hall ends up winning a short match. It's not looking too good for the nWo that they went from feuding with Rock and Austin to feuding with Bradshaw.

 

Jazz Vs Trish Stratus: For Jazz's women's title. Standard 5-min diva match. Trish is looking a little sloppy, but Jazz looks like a beast, and goes over via submission.

 

Brock Lesnar Vs Jeff Hardy: So, here comes the pain. Lesnar looked so young back then. It was almost hard to take him seriously as a killer. Almost. Jeff gets some offence in, but this is mostly a Lesnar showcase. I don't like the win by ref stoppage gimmick though.

 

Kurt Angle Vs Edge: This is pretty much exactly what you'd expect this match to look like. Not much in the way of selling, but plenty of energy, counters, nearfalls... And it gets over huge with the crowd. Seriously big reactions for this, and even Lawler seems to be marking out come the end. This seems like the start of a new period in Angle's career, where he's wrestling mostly just to have classic matches.

 

Eddie Guerrero Vs Rob van Dam: RVD is the IC champ now, defeating Regal at WrestleMania. Boo. These two have really good chemistry, or maybe it's just that Eddie is that good, because he's definitely the star of this match. Actually, this is booked surprisingly one-sided in Eddie's favour, and comes off like a dominant win, even with a little assist from the title belt. Good match.

 

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Vs The Undertaker: Number one contenders match, with Ric Flair as guest ref. Flair is really poor as a ref, as are most guest refs actually, with Lawler even asking if arthritis has set in on the Nature Boy, due to his seeming inability to get fully down for his counts. The match goes nearly half an hour, and, in standard Austin/Taker fashion, isn't very good. I don't know if I would notice it without knowing, but you can really tell the well is running dry with Austin. Taker's character work is still on point, but he doesn't really need to be in a match this long. Taker wins after Flair counts Austin down, not seeing his foot on the bottom rope.

 

Billy and Chuck Vs Maven and Al Snow: I feel like a strong period of WWF tag team wrestler is officially over, when this is the ppv title match. Chuck is really running with this gimmick, bless him, and hits a sweet jungle kick to help his team retain.

 

Triple H Vs Hulk Hogan: Hey, I just noticed it's Triple H Vs Triple H! It's hilarious to me that Hunter ended up jobbing the belt just a month after winning it, to Hogan at that. Another match going longer than it needed to, over 20 mins. This was smartly laid out, to be fair, even though I don't buy Hunter as a power wrestler in the opening power vs power exchanges. Then Triple H goes after the leg, before the dog and pony show kicks in in the form of run-ins from Jericho and Taker. Taker's smirk after costing Trips the match is great. Job done. Hunter's angry face after the match is terrible though, before they do the respect thing and Hogan poses us out.

 

Match of the night: Tajiri Vs Kidman, 3 and a quarter stars. Eddie/RVD, 3.

Show rating: There's a fair bit of variety on the show, but it's not all of the greatest quality. Pretty average overall. 2 and a quarter stars.

[cwoy2j]

 

Scott Hall Vs Bradshaw: X-Pac is back, and parading around with Kane's mask. Nash has been 'indefinitely suspended'. Don't remember what that was about. Faarooq, who is now on Smackdown, comes out to even the odds, but Hall ends up winning a short match. It's not looking too good for the nWo that they went from feuding with Rock and Austin to feuding with Bradshaw.

 

IIRC, this match had the worst low blow ever.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWF Insurrextion 2002.

 

Just seen that the dark match for this was Goldust Vs Mr Perfect. That may have been interesting.

 

Rob van Dam Vs Eddie Guerrero: Part two of their rivalry on ppv, and this picks up where the last one leaves off. Not as good as the Backlash match, and hurt by a dq finish, but good nonetheless. I see this as another feather in Eddie's cap, as RVD definitely is not bringing as much to the table.

 

Trish Stratus and Jacqueline Vs Molly Holly and Jazz: Typical WWF storytelling here, as Molly is running a crusade against vulgarity, and overt sexuality, but really of course she's just jealous that she doesn't have as good a body as the other divas. This is spelled out in a pre-match interview in which Terri takes off her shirt to demonstrate what Molly is lacking. Lots of comments from our commentary team about Molly's virginity, as well as digs from the King about Jazz's looks. The faces get the win.

 

X-Pac Vs Bradshaw: Pac wants Hall to stay in the back, and declares if he loses he'll never wrestle in the UK again. This is actually pretty good, and it's nice to see that Pac can still go. Hall does end up coming out, and helps X-Pac pick up the win.

 

Booker T Vs Steven Richards: This is bizarre. Bizarre that Richards is going into a ppv with a championship (albeit the hardcore title, but it was only a couple of months ago when Taker was wearing that belt) at this point in time, and bizarre that he's defending it against another heel, Booker (although Book was over like a face, and I wonder if this was testing the water for his babyface turn). Bizarre also that the match is worked pretty even, and Richards gets to kick out of a lot of Booker's high-end offence. JR asks King if he thinks Booker looks like Lennox Lewis, which strikes me a bit as 'they all look alike to me'. King isn't sure, but does agree that Jazz looks like Mike Tyson. These guys. Book eventually gets the win, but Crash comes in and wins the belt, before it goes back to Booker and then, with help from Jazz, back to Richards. This wasn't a very good match, and the title is so played out now.

 

The Hardy Boyz Vs Brock Lesnar and Shawn Stasiak: If a Steven Richards match on ppv wasn't weird enough, here's a Shawn Stasiak sighting, doing his Planet Stasiak gimmick. This probably would have gotten over if he wasn't such an idiot. Super bland in the ring though. This is pretty much exactly how you'd expect it to be booked- Stasiak doesn't do as he's told and stand on the apron, instead tagging himself in and getting beat, Brock leaves everyone lying. Brock looks like a beast, and I'm surprised how good he's looking this early on (although he's really just squashing guys at this point).

 

Spike Dudley Vs William Regal: Spike had upset Regal for the Euro title, and here's the rematch. Regal cuts a nice promo pre-match, and is great taking advantage of an injury Spike sustains to his ankle, before Spike gets a cheeky roll-up to retain. I hate Regal jobbing to Spike, and wish at least he was given more time to do his thing.

 

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Vs The Big Show: Flair is acting as an outside the ring ref. Show is nWo now. Lots of 'you fat bastard' chants. King keeps asking JR if he thinks the chants are directed at him, which pisses JR off. The only time these two are entertaining these days is when JR is being grumpy with Lawler. This is a much sharper performance from Austin, but Show doesn't offer much. Flair chases off Hall and X-Pac, Nash does a run-in but is fought off by Austin, and Austin hits a pair of stunners on Show for the win. Even my wife could see that Flair sharing a beer with Austin post-match wasn't going to end well for the Nature Boy.

 

Triple H Vs The Undertaker: I guess Hogan didn't want to fly to the UK, as this is your main event. Pretty dull match, with Hunter going over, because, y'know, he had to beat the guy who would be winning the undisputed title on the next show.

 

Match of the night: RVD/Eddie is just about 3 stars. Really X-Pac/Bradshaw is the only other match that comes close.

 

Show rating: Apart from those two matches, there's nothing on this worth seeing. Pretty boring and forgettable show overall. 1.5 stars.

[Skeeball Wizard]

Planet Stasiak and Brock Leanar vs. The Hardy's?! While the gimmick was ridiculous, I though Stasiak really worked hard to make it work, and I love the gimmick for that. Gonna have to watch this now. Thank you sir!

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Judgment Day 2002.

 

The F has been got out, so here's the first WWE pay-per-view.

 

Eddie Guerrero Vs Rob van Dam: The rivalry continues, but this is the worst match of the feud, maybe not coincidentally because it's the one in which RVD is most dominant. In all fairness to Rob, Eddie looks strangely off his game in this one. Guerrero retains the belt.

 

Trish Stratus Vs Stacy Keibler: Haha, look who's accompanying Stacy, it's Reverend D-Von and Deacon Batista. I actually liked the Rev. D-Von gimmick, it's just the right kind of stupid for me, but Batista doesn't half look a fool. Amazing how well his career ended up, based on these beginnings. Trish has Bubba Ray backing her up, so it's a Dudleys reunion. Trish ends up winning a nothing match, and then D-Von and the deacon attack Bubba.

 

The Hardy Boyz Vs Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman: Lesnar again just throwing dudes around. Heyman takes a bit of a beating, but Brock ends up F5ing Jeff, allowing Heyman to get the pin. JR is sickened by this.

 

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Vs The Big Show and Ric Flair: So Flair is a heel now. Is this his first match since returning to the company? He looks like crap, to be honest. In fact, no-one really comes out of this looking any good. This feud with Flair/the nWo seems like a real low point in Austin's WWE career. I wanna say this is the last time I'll be seeing him compete for this project too, which is a shame.

 

Edge Vs Kurt Angle: It's hair vs hair as this rivalry continues. Pretty similar match to the last one they had, in that it felt pretty lacking in structure, but once they started out busting out the high-end offence and nearfalls, the fans started losing their shit. No matter what you think of this style of wrestling, you can't say the fans didn't eat it up. I hate Angle's 'burst of adrenaline'-style no sells, of which there are a few here. At this point in time I hated Edge. Just thought he was a really bland wrestler. It wasn't until he turned heel that I became a fan. The finish was nice, with a slick small package from Edge getting the job done, after copious finisher kick-outs. Angle would run away to avoid the hair cut, but Edge later caught up with him, put him in a sleeper, and shaved him bald.

 

Triple H Vs Chris Jericho: Hell in a Cell. This is mostly boring as hell. Boring as Hell in a Cell. Do people cite this as a great match? I feel like it's well-received. It doesn't ever really click into high gear for me. I like Jericho on offence as a heel, because he does lots of cocky mannerisms and trash talk, but I don't like Hunter selling. Standard blood, announce table destruction, and it ends on the top of the cell. I don't know how they dare wrestle around up there- I'm definitely in awe of that, as someone who is scared of heights. Hunter sends Jericho back to the midcard.

 

Billy and Chuck Vs Rikishi and Rico: Stupid angle which sees Kish and Rico win the tag belts. I've no time for this.

 

The Undertaker Vs Hulk Hogan: I'll give them credit for keeping this short and not trying to do a typical 20+ minute epic main event. Undertaker's character work is on point, but he hasn't convinced me in the ring since he came back as Booger Red, or Big Evil or whatever they were calling him that week. The build-up to this included the stupid, but kinda funny, angle where Taker pulls Hogan (conveniently wearing tonnes of padding) along behind his bike. Vince ends up getting involved in this and Taker takes the belt to a bit of a pop. I think the fans were behind Hogan, but they just didn't want to see him as champion at this point.

 

MOTN: Nary a good match on this show. I'm tempted to give it to Edge and Angle, as their high energy spotfest at least stood out. I could maybe go to 3 stars for them.

 

Show rating: This is a depressing one, illustrative of the era for me. Even the match I'm sure would have delivered (RVD/Eddie) didn't. 1 star.

[Brian Fowler]

I remember liking the HiaC way more than their Mania match, but it's been at least five years since I've watched it.